The dedication of the Blue Ridge Landfill Gas-to-Energy Power Project at the Blue Ridge Landfill Tuesday brought together representatives from several organizations to create what one official called a "perfect partnership" between entities and a "commitment to go green."

"Communities must find environmental solutions within economic reason," Chambersburg Borough Council President William McLaughlin said.

The 6.4-mega watt project is a gas-to-energy facility at the Scotland landfill. It was developed and installed by PPL Renewable Energy, IESI-A Progressive Waste Solutions Company, and the Borough of Chambersburg.

The facility, working commercially since January, converts methane gas produced by trash at the Blue Ridge Landfill to power four generators, which send electricity to the borough of Chambersburg.

PPL operates the plant and sells power to the borough. Greene Township supervisors also worked with the borough in the construction of the new facility, since the landfill is in their jurisdiction.

Matt Strine, a supervisor of the Blue Ridge plant and several others for PPL, said that it takes from several months to years for the landfill garbage to release methane.

"If we stopped putting waste in the landfill today, there would be enough gas for 10 years," he said.

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Chambersburg Borough Council paid $2 million for a power line that connects the plant to the borough's electric system, according to Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill.

"It takes a lot of different groups of people to bring a project like this to fruition," PPL Renewable Energy President Mike Kroboth said, mentioning the need for community involvement and cooperation. It came through, he said, with the shared values of respect for the environment, making clean and green energy, a shared responsibility and persistence.

"We are preventing an equivalent of 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the same as planting 7,300 acres of pine forest or removing 7,000 cars from the road," Kroboth said.

State Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, a former Greene Township supervisor and supporter of the project, attended the event. He praised the "willing ears" that listened to them to get the project up and going, including Gov. Tom Corbett and State Sen. Richard Alloway, among others.

C. Alan Walker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, stated that this type of advancement, along with Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania, will be influencing big changes.

"This is an exciting part of the state right now," Walker said. "I see what's going to happen in the energy world. It is going to change the economy in a good way. I've been in the energy business for a long time, and seen a lot, but as they say, the best is yet to come."

Typically a project like this for PPL costs about $15 million dollars, according to PPL spokesman Ryan Hill, but the exact number was not released.

The plant will produce an estimated 15 percent of the borough's electric needs.

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Lauren Cappuccio can be contacted at lcappuccio@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4754.